Citation Nr: 9815587
Decision Date: 05/20/98 Archive Date: 05/29/98
DOCKET NO. 93-18 256 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in New
Orleans, Louisiana
THE ISSUE
Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to
reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for
hearing loss.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States
WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL
Appellant
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
D. P. Havelka, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran’s active military service extended from June 1969
to June 1971.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
(Board) on appeal from a September 1992 rating decision by
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO)
in New Orleans, Louisiana. That rating decision denied the
veteran’s attempt to reopen his claim for service connection
for hearing loss.
REMAND
In August 1993, a hearing was held before a member of the
Board who is no longer employed by the Board of Veterans’
Appeals. In April 1998 the Board contacted the veteran to
ascertain if he wanted another Travel Board Hearing before a
current member of the Board. The veteran responded in April
1998 that he wanted another Travel Board Hearing. The
veteran should be accorded the requested hearing.
The Board notes that the veteran resides in Louisiana, and
that his claim is handled by the New Orleans Regional Office
(RO). However, the veteran has requested that his hearing be
held at the Jackson, Mississippi Regional Office. This
information is referred to the RO for action deemed
appropriate.
To ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
met any duty to assist the claimant in developing the facts
pertinent to the claim and to ensure full compliance with due
process requirements, the case is REMANDED to the regional
office (RO) for the following development:
The RO should schedule the appellant for
a hearing before a traveling member of
the Board. The RO should contact the
appellant at his last known address of
record and through his representative and
provide notice of the hearing.
After the appellant and her representative have been given an
opportunity to appear at a Travel Board Hearing, the claims
folder shall be returned to this Board for further appellate
review. No action is required by the appellant until she
receives further notice. The purpose of this remand is to
comply with the governing adjudicative procedures.
The Board intimates no opinion, either legal or factual, as
to the ultimate disposition of this appeal. Further
adjudication of the issue of whether new and material
evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of service
connection for a bilateral foot disorder will be postponed
until the remand action is completed.
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans’ Appeals or by the United States Court of
Veterans Appeals for additional development or other
appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.
See The Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L.
No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 5101 (West Supp. 1998) (Historical and Statutory Notes).
In addition, VBA’s ADJUDICATION PROCEDURE MANUAL, M21-1, Part
IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all
cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court.
See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and 38.02-38.03.
BETTINA S. CALLAWAY
Member, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans’ Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the
Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b)
(1997).
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